National VAM
Understand how Canadians watch video across linear television and streaming platforms, with a unified cross-platform view of audiences, reach, and behaviour.
National VAM represents the industry’s shift toward a truly unified measurement standard—bringing linear and streaming together in a single, comparable view of video audiences.
It provides you with the clarity to measure total video consumption and understand how audiences move across platforms. Building on this foundation, Numeris is progressing toward direct integration of first‑party streaming data, including program‑level viewing from participating platforms. This added depth will enable more precise understanding of content performance, enhance audience validation, and deliver a more complete picture of total video consumption.
What is National VAM?
National VAM is Numeris’ cross-platform video measurement solution for Canada, combining linear TV and streaming data into a single dataset. It delivers standardized audience metrics across platforms and devices, including both unduplicated and duplicated reach, so you can understand total consumption and how audiences overlap.
National VAM covers over 95% of video platforms in Canada, including major streaming services like Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Prime Video, Crave, TikTok, as well as CTV and broadcaster apps.
National VAM measures both unduplicated reach—showing how many people watched across television and digital—and duplicated reach, so you can see where audiences overlap.
Our panel is reflective of Canadian’s true behaviours, which includes those without traditional cable subscriptions.
National VAM includes digital streaming and online viewing in the same dataset with linear TV viewing. This enables apples‑to‑apples comparisons between linear television and digital streaming.
How to access National VAM
VAM Insights Tool
Easy access to high‑level insights through a user‑friendly, intuitive dashboard designed to explore linear and streaming viewing across demographics, platforms, and devices. Available to all Numeris video subscribers.
*Password required
OneLook
A free snapshot of how Canadians consume video content. OneLook provides top‑line insights and key trends from National VAM, offering an easy, accessible view of linear TV, streaming, and digital video consumption across devices.
Video Planner
Plan smarter with deduplicated reach, frequency, and exclusive reach by platform, powered by National VAM, so you can make informed decisions before a dollar is spent!
InstarVAM
Understand how Canadians really watch across platforms and devices, with audience insights into time spent, viewing patterns, and platform-level duplication drawn from National VAM.
Software & Applications
Leverage the full depth of National VAM through trusted third‑party software solutions offering detailed, customizable analysis and reporting.
Our Equipment
Focal Meter
The FocalMeter is a small piece of equipment that only measures the viewing to specific pre-selected and agreed upon video platforms. These video platforms include Canadian TV Broadcasters websites and apps as well as streaming websites and apps like Netflix. The FocalMeter doesn’t measure any other websites that panel members may visit.
The FocalMeter sends viewing information to Numeris every day. When we get this information, we combine it with the information from other panel member households to produce the ratings for digital video viewing. All the viewing information we provide is based on groups of people, never individuals.
Our Equipment
Personal Meter
The Personal Meter tracks the Radio listening and linear TV viewing of our panelists.
The data gathered by the Personal Meters is automatically downloaded at the end of each day, then processed by Numeris and released to clients electronically. As with the digital video consumption, all the viewing and listening information we provide is based on groups of people, never individuals.
Easy to use, the Personal Meter automatically detects what you listen to on the Radio and watch on linear TV by picking up encoded signals sent out by Broadcasters. These signals are silent to the human ear.
While your Personal Meter can detect a station’s signal if sound is coming from your Radio or TV, rest assured it will not detect or record human conversation or any other household sounds.
We understand carrying the Personal Meter every day may be challenging for kids. Watch the video below for some tips to make carrying the Personal Meter easier for your family, especially if you have young children.
Need Help?
If you have any questions, please check out our FAQs below.
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What is Numeris' Multimedia Panel?
The Multimedia Panel is a panel made up of thousands of households across the country. These households have been carefully selected to represent their respective regions. Panelists wear special electronic devices called PersonalMeters and are provided with an electronic meter, called a FocalMeter. These devices capture their radio listening and television viewing, as well as online video viewing from sites listed in our inclusion list, from which ratings are then calculated.
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Once I've joined, how long must I stay on the panel?
While we’d like you to remain on our panel for an extended period of time, you may leave whenever you wish. Please keep the boxes that your PersonalMeter and FocalMeter equipment arrived in so that you can ship it back to us. If you wish to leave the panel, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
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What should I tell people who ask about my PersonalMeter or FocalMeter?
To ensure the integrity of Numeris ratings, it is important that your participation remain confidential. If someone asks about your PersonalMeter or FocalMeter, simply say you are participating in a special research study. Please do not tell anyone you don’t know, or anyone working in the media industry, that your household participates in the Numeris ratings.
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Will the PersonalMeter equipment interfere with my Radio or TV reception?
No, the equipment won’t interfere with your reception. You’ll continue to receive the same stations that are available to you now.
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Will the PersonalMeter still pick up the signal if my TV is on mute?
No. In order for the PersonalMeter to pick up the encoded program signal, the sound must be on. That said, do not change your behaviour for the sole purpose of activating the device. Just watch or listen to the TV as you normally do.
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How long does it take to install the FocalMeter?
Connecting the FocalMeter to your network will take less than 10 minutes. After connecting the network cable between your FocalMeter and home router and powering the FocalMeter, there is an online device registration process.
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Will the FocalMeter interfere with my Internet service or other networked devices?
No, in most cases the equipment will not interfere with your Internet service or other devices in any way. In rare cases panelists have experienced intermittent connectivity issues with some networked devices. If you experience any technical issues, please contact your Panel Administration Team.
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Does listening to more Radio or watching more TV increase my reward points?
No. Reward points are related to the amount of time you wear the PersonalMeter each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you listen to the radio or watch TV.
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Does watching more Internet video increase my compensation?
No. Your compensation for participating in our panel is not related to the amount of time you watch Internet video each week. It doesn’t matter how much or how little you watch.
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Sometimes I listen to the Radio on the Internet, through my cable TV or via Podcasts. Will my PersonalMeter pick up these signals?
Yes. Your PersonalMeter will detect all types of radio signals. If necessary, please use your headphone adapter when listening to any of these types of broadcasts.
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What if I drop my PersonalMeter in the water or on the ground?
Contact your Panel Administrator right away to request a replacement.
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What if we take a vacation?
If you’re only away for a weekend, just take your portable charger with you and continue to use your PersonalMeter. If you’re planning to be away for longer, let your Panel Administrator know when you’re leaving and when you’ll be back.
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Will someone need to visit my home to hook up the equipment?
No. We’ll enclose complete instructions when we send you your equipment. We’ll also enclose a telephone number you can call if you need help.
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How will my Panel Administrator contact me?
Your Panel Administrator will contact you by telephone, email or text – whichever works best for you.
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Why was my household chosen?
The panels in each market include all types of homes. Yours was randomly selected as a representative of your community.
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How did you get my name and telephone number?
We obtain contact information in two ways. The phone numbers, names and address details we use are randomly selected from telephone book listings, cell phone listings included. In addition, we use a computer program to randomly generate new numbers in order to reach unlisted phone numbers.
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What if I didn't choose the station I'm watching or listening to?
Regardless of whether you chose it, if you watched it or listened to it we want to know, so please remember to carry your PersonalMeter with you wherever you go.
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If I'm watching a TV show on my tablet or smart phone, do I still need to wear my PersonalMeter?
The PersonalMeter can pick up broadcast signals from any device, so please wear it at all times, regardless of if and where you are watching TV.
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If my entire family goes out for the day, should we take all of our PersonalMeters with us or will one suffice?
When you go out, even as a family, each participating household member should take his or her own PersonalMeter as this is the only way we can pick up each individual’s listening and viewing for inclusion in the ratings.
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Do I need to push any buttons on my PersonalMeter or FocalMeter do anything special?
Using your PersonalMeter is incredibly easy. All you need to do is carry it with you by day and charge it in the portable charger by night. As for your FocalMeter, simply connect it to your home Internet connection. Then follow the online registration process to register your FocalMeter with our panel. That’s all that is required.
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Should I contact you if a family member moves out or somebody new moves in?
Yes. If anything changes in your household – e.g. somebody moves in or out, you go on vacation, your TV reception format changes – please contact your Panel Administrator.
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How does the FocalMeter exclude web traffic other than that going to/from those on the Numeris inclusion list?
The FocalMeter ONLY tracks web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. Any website not on the inclusion list will not have any data logged by the FocalMeter. It DOES NOT monitor any secure traffic on your network, or any traffic on banking or e-commerce sites. It does not track any passwords or monitor any emails or IM chats.
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Is all web traffic data collected and then selectively deleted or is only the relevant traffic information gathered in the first place?
The FocalMeter excludes web traffic based on a pre-determined inclusion list. The inclusion list is a list of approved websites (domains) where the FocalMeter is allowed to monitor video viewing. The FocalMeter ONLY collects the URLs that are on the inclusion list and the rest are ignored. Even on inclusion list sites, the FocalMeter only monitors a small fraction of content from these sites via “tags”. Tags are specific URLs identifying the pages navigated or the videos played within an inclusion list website. Apart from this, the FocalMeter collects:
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Mac Address of the home router and information on the local home network
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Model, Name, OS, MAC Address, local IP address of devices seen in the home network.
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Contact Us
A member of your Regional Panel Administration Team will keep in touch with you by telephone, email or text – whichever you prefer!
If you have any questions during or after the set-up process, please give us a call or send us an email. Also, please reach out if you’re going on holiday, if you’re having equipment issues, or if the make-up of your household has changed in any way.